Titanium knives

[greybrick]

For those who need super lightweight knives here are a couple more Titanium designs from Ocean Master, half the weight of steel;

http://www.oceanmaster.com/KnivesFeatures.htm#Server

I like the folding knife for it's small package and relative safety.

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[mountainpete]

Titanium is also nice because it doesn't rust.

 

[StumpXJ]

I love Ti knives. My favorite at this point:

CRKT knives are awesome.

Thanks for the link, those are really nice as well!

~James

 

[ntsqd]

From machining it Ti behaves a lot like 300 series stainless. Is it also as poor as 300 series for holding an edge?

 

[greybrick]

From machining it Ti behaves a lot like 300 series stainless. Is it also as poor as 300 series for holding an edge?

From various knife and other metal sites it looks like some of the Beta Titanium alloys have about the same Rockwell hardness as good tool steel. There are enough reputable knife companies making Ti knives but if holding an edge was an issue they couldn't sell them I think; probably just a matter of finding the right Ti alloy.

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[StumpXJ]

Not sure of all of the metallurgy stuff, you guys seem to have a handle on it, but I have two Ti knives, and they hold an edge great!

~James

 

[greybrick]

I phoned the order desk at TicoTitanium to see if they have beta alloys in plate;

http://www.ticotitanium.com/plate.php#sheet

No luck as Tico only supplies high tensile beta Ti alloys in bar stock, but the order desk gal suggested calling Supra Titanium for alloy plate. I'd like to track down a few pieces of a beta Ti alloy to hand make a couple of skeleton knives, a machete and maybe a couple of other tools.

http://www.supraalloys.com/index.html

Any suggestions welcomed.

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[gearbox]

For those who need super lightweight knives here are a couple more Titanium designs from Ocean Master, half the weight of steel;

http://www.oceanmaster.com/KnivesFeatures.htm#Server

I like the folding knife for it's small package and relative safety.

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Consider a Benchmade with Axis-Lock. They can be small and are more "safe" than those, not to mention they are faster and have the ergos and design quality and engineering from a million-dollar company. A good steel alloy like 154CM or S30V will be fine for everything except leaving in a wet bag.
Titanium is rarely worth it due to the huge cost versus minor weight savings and corrosion resistance.

 

[greybrick]

Thanks Gearbox. I'm still looking for suppliers of reasonably priced Ti plate and products though. Here is a big list of various Ti metal and manufactured item suppliers in the US and abroad;

http://www.titan-japan.com/indexe.htm

Interestingly for a Japanese made product these Ti pots and pans from the Horie company don't look to be too expensive;

http://www.horie.co.jp/english/goldpan_e.htm

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[ntsqd]

It amazed me to find Ti being touted as "Corrosion-Proof" and words to that effect. Does the knife industry not know about chlorine based solvents (1, 1, 1; etc.) and their tendency to cause interior (invisible) corrosion salts in Titanium? The aircraft industry forbids the use of those solvents just for this reason. One aircraft parts vendor I know of isn't allowed to have any such solvents on the property.

 

[tdesanto]

Benchmade

520 Presidio Pardue Design

551 Griptilian Pardue Design

960 Osborne Design

 

[gearbox]

Thanks Gearbox. I'm still looking for suppliers of reasonably priced Ti plate and products though. Here is a big list of various Ti metal and manufactured item suppliers in the US and abroad;

http://www.titan-japan.com/indexe.htm

Interestingly for a Japanese made product these Ti pots and pans from the Horie company don't look to be too expensive;

http://www.horie.co.jp/english/goldpan_e.htm

.

I wish you the best luck in your quest. DIY is a great thing! However, something tells me the alloy for pots and pans may leave something to be desired in the arena of edge-holding ability. You could find out by buying a $9 spork at REI and sharpening the handle :sombrero:
Who knows what heat treating to give it, but I'm sure there are several internet forums dedicated to knife-making and surely a few aficianados of Ti.
If it would help I have a chunk of Ti-6AL-4V lying around that you could try to sharpen and dull. I don't know what heat treatment it has received, nor am I very knowledgeable in general about Ti, despite working with it.

 

[gearbox]

It amazed me to find Ti being touted as "Corrosion-Proof" and words to that effect. Does the knife industry not know about chlorine based solvents (1, 1, 1; etc.) and their tendency to cause interior (invisible) corrosion salts in Titanium? The aircraft industry forbids the use of those solvents just for this reason. One aircraft parts vendor I know of isn't allowed to have any such solvents on the property.

In addition, there are restrictions on lead, silver and cadmium, I believe. I've been told any of those can cause inter-granular stress corrosion and/or hydrogen propagation/cracks. Welding is done with a pure argon flood or, in electron beam processes, a very high vacuum.

 

[pathfinderdriver]

Doesn't really apply much but I did find out by mistake that you can put Titanium in the microwave without any ill effects. It doesn't heat up much, doesn't do the lightning show that steel does. This was with the MSR titanium forks and spoons.